


You'll just have to learn the hard way

by Vimes



Category: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28901484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vimes/pseuds/Vimes
Summary: "Brad stopped by the door to one of the conference rooms and held it open for you, but in a way that would force you to get rather close if you wanted to pass him. This time his smile was sarcastic, almost a little mean... but after the way you’d stared at him, that was probably no more than fair.You stepped into his warmth, passed the threshold and forced yourself not to linger near him. Whatever this was, it hadn’t crossed the line into open flirtation and you couldn’t let it."The reader applies for a job at Mythic Quest and immediately gets distracted by Brad Bakshi's handsome face, because that's realistic.Will become explicit eventually
Relationships: Brad Bakshi/Reader, Brad Bakshi/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	You'll just have to learn the hard way

“Going up?”

You’d been so lost in thought you’d barely noticed the man who’d followed you into the elevator. There were just too many fractured thoughts to contend with - were your clothes still smooth? Did your pits feel dry? Were you on time? Would you survive if you failed this interview? Now you turned to face him with a panicked smile and an unsteady “yes, please.”

Beside you stood a tall, slim man with neat clothes, unruly hair and angular, handsome features. He seemed completely at ease and looked down at you with unembarrassed interest. Since he didn’t turn his gaze even as he pressed the button, he caught your double take and his own smile widened.

“First day?”

Was he implying that he would’ve noticed you if you’d crossed paths before or did your jitters show that badly? He still hadn’t broken eye contact... and you realised with dread that neither had you.

“I’m here for an interview,” you managed and finally wrestled back control over yourself long enough to lower both your shoulders and your eyes.

“Ah,” was all the reply he gave.

If you hadn’t been so close to a panic already, you never would have betrayed yourself so badly even if he’d been twice as good looking. Your shallow breaths had drawn in too much of his cologne and made you light headed, that was all. The drop of a pin would’ve been enough to startle you. Too bad you couldn’t tell _him_ that without coming off even worse than you already had.

The elevator came to a halt on the top floor and your co-passenger took a polite step back to let you exit ahead of him. Since you had to halt almost immediately to get your bearings, this meant he was trapped as your shadow a little longer. Perhaps that was the idea.

“Can I help you get anywhere?” he asked and you clung to his smiles and politeness as to a life belt.

“Would you? I’m supposed to meet miss Li in conference room four.” It was much too late to try to impress this guy anyway and this way you didn’t have to risk exposing your nerves to a second person.

“Of course.” He slipped past you and walked ahead down one of the corridors. “So what brings you to Mythic Quest? Love of the game or is this more of a career move?”

“Well...” It was impossible to guess which answer he’d prefer. “Obviously it would be wonderful to help create something that makes so many people happy.”

“Obviously.” His tone was carefully neutral.

There was something so disarming about him that it was hard to give him the usual interview bullshit. “I guess, besides being a dedicated team player and all that, one of my real passions is being able to pay my bills.”

He leaned his head to one side as he pondered this. It dawned on you that in less than five minutes, you’d shown him nearly every card in your hand and he hadn’t even told you his name. “You know,” he said at last, “I can’t find a single fault with that argument.”

He stopped by the door to one of the conference rooms and held it open for you, but in a way that would force you to get rather close if you wanted to pass him. This time his smile was sarcastic, almost a little mean... but after the way you’d stared at him, that was probably no more than fair.

You stepped into his warmth, passed the threshold and forced yourself not to linger near him. Whatever this was, it hadn’t crossed the line into open flirtation and you couldn’t let it.

“I’d offer to get you a cup of coffee, but I don’t want to hurt your chances.” He was out the door before you’d even found a seat. You’d meant to thank him but with a lazy wave and a “I’ll see you around” he shut the door behind him and was off.

\---------------

Somehow (you’d never piece together how) the interview went well and you were hired. Part of it might have been that Poppy seemed to have been almost as on edge as you, for totally different reasons. It didn’t take more than a day before you realised that as long as you could keep your cool, do your job and keep a healthy distance between you and your co-workers, you’d already be doing better than most of them.

Brad made every part of this difficult. He didn’t spend a lot of time in his office, so you saw him forever just across the room or walking absent-mindedly into your path, forcing you to plan around him, only managing to avoid him by being hyper aware of his comings and goings. You couldn’t determine whether attraction or embarrassment had more say over your actions. You’d put a name to that handsome face almost immediately simply by asking someone - it seemed the logical first step towards recovering a little of the power you’d accidentally handed over to him.

The second would be to prove, nonchalantly yet unequivocally, that you could be near him without melting into a puddle by his feet. Since this couldn’t happen by design, you lived in dread until the moment you both went for coffee at the same time.

You knew he was behind you before he’d made a sound and only turned when you were sure you could keep your face blank.

“You made it, then,” he said. He looked mildly pleased, that was all you could make out.

“I did. Thank you so much for helping me find my way, I was a bag of nerves.”

Brad nodded. “And is it everything you’d hoped?”

“Oh, yes. I’m ecstatic.” You hadn’t meant to smile, but there it was.

“Yeah, managing Poppy’s meltdowns must be a dream.”

You were prepared this time. You refused to be lead into saying something you shouldn’t, no matter how much he angled for it. “Poppy’s great. Everyone here has been so welcoming.”

It was true, too, but that didn’t seem to help. Brad pointedly looked you over and then raised his eyebrows. “I’m not surprised.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He sighed. “I appreciate how desperate you are to kiss ass, but next time you should try to make it a little more believable.”

Your drink was ready. You took your mug, stepped out to a safe distance and used the excuse of cream and sugar to linger while he made himself an espresso. 

“I don’t need to kiss _your_ ass, do I?” What’d happened to your script? How had the conversation gotten this dangerous this quickly? He seemed determined to catch you out one way or another and now he had. “I mean, you’re not really my boss.”

Brad pursed his lips and seemed to genuinely consider this. “Yeah... I see what you mean. I certainly don’t have a need for your expertise, whatever that is.” Then he smiled very widely. “But on the other hand, if you think about it, I am actually your boss. At least in every way that counts.”

There was nothing in his expression or his tone to indicate how much he was joking, or even if it was a joke you were meant to be in on. You shook your head and tried to laugh it off - what else could you do? “Yeah, well. I was brought up to work for what I want and let my contribution speak for itself.”

Brad laughed. “Now, _that_ is funny.” He raised his elegant little cup of coffee to you. “Thanks, I needed that. You’re gonna go far around here.”


End file.
